Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3) (64 page)

"Uh, no…is something wrong?"

"Liam will fill you in." I
hung up and tried Lilli again as I walked out of my office. I could feel James
on my heels. "Fuck, she isn’t answering!"

"This way, we will take my
car." James pulled me toward the garage level and into the private parking
for VP’s.

We got into his Porsche and sped through
the city. I repeatedly called my wife like a stalker.

The car wasn’t even in park, let alone
stopped, when I flew out of the passenger door and into the house. My head
almost spun off of my shoulders with the way I looked around for her. Dining
room empty, living room empty, bedroom empty….Library.

"Lilli?" I shouted and pushed
the door open.

My heart shattered into million pieces
when I saw her. Her shoulders were jerking from the silent sobs. She looked up
to me with swollen red eyes and tear stained cheeks. One sniffle and then her
wrist flicked a glossy piece of paper at me.

"Lilli, it’s Gideon, he is
trying…" She put her hand up to stop me.

"I can’t do this. I didn’t sign on
for this. It’s too much." She shook her head almost violently as she stood
from the lounge chair.

"Please, I doubt that this is even
real. He is a bastard who is trying to get control of the company. I never
realized how sick he was, but apparently it’s…" Her sobbing broke off my
words. I moved to her and wrapped her in my arms.

"Don’t." She sobbed. "I
can’t take it. It’s all just too much Aidan." She pushed away from me and
looked me dead in the eyes. "I’m sorry."

She hurried out of the room.

My emotions took over and I destroyed
the lamp sitting on the side table. One hit and it flew across the room,
shattering against the wall. I slouched down into the chair with my head in my
hands. She was going to leave again. I was going to lose her, this time for
good.

Chapter Nine
Reunions
Lilli

I didn’t know what to do when I opened
the priority message envelope that had been delivered.

Having just dealt with Uncle Henry and
now this, I was coming undone mentally and emotionally. I stared at the ultra
sound picture and the sobs tore through me. I heard my cell phone, but couldn’t
move. Frozen in a whirlwind of mixed emotions and tears, I read over the
included letter. Loreley was now pregnant and it was supposedly Aidan’s.
Another sob tore through my lips.

I knew that Aidan had been drugged and
that this was some big ‘plot’, but I just…I couldn’t cope anymore. Mentally, I
was exhausted, and emotionally, I was spent. Paranoia had become my new best
friend and I hated it. I despised my life right now.

As my sobs became silent, I heard Aidan
come in yelling for me. When he tried to talk or touch me I just couldn’t do
it. I was beat, utterly destroyed, everything that has happened has taken such
a toll on me that I just….can’t do it. I give up.

I left him in the library as I hurried
to the spare room that had now become mine. Hearing a loud crash from behind me,
I could only imagine what he had broken.

Lying in bed, crying into my pillow, the
past two years played through my mind. Finding out I was pregnant, having been
drugged, courtesy of Henry, Aidan drugged and naked with Loreley, and
now…fuck…now Aidan may be the father to her child. These events would never
have taken place if I just said no to the arrangement with Aidan. I was angry
with myself.

Then thoughts of the McDonald’s dinner,
the small tokens and kisses, the night that I attacked him for the first time,
the way he watched and looked at me, how doting he was as I carried his
children, the love that he pushed and pushed into my face every day, the moment
I gave birth to his children. I would never have had those things if it weren’t
for being with Aidan.

Of course I could have eventually met
someone and had a family, but it wouldn’t have been what I have now. I loved
Aidan, deeply and immensely. He wasn’t the issue, not completely anyway, the
events of our life were. Would it always be this way? Will it always be
something or someone trying to hurt us or take something away from us? Will I
always feel like a pawn in the greater scheme of someone else’s plan?

Eventually the mental and emotional
stress did a number on my physical strength and I fell asleep. When I woke up
it was dark. I rolled over and turned on the lamp next to the bed. I took a
deep breath and sat up on the edge of my bed.

"Ahhhh!" I screamed and jumped
back on the bed, my hand to my chest as I rapidly tried to catch my breath.
Jesus, he scared me half to death.

"I’m sorry." He whispered out.

"Fuck, Aidan, you…fuck…you scared
the shit out of me." I was still calming myself. "What are you doing?

"I didn’t want you to be alone.
I’ll go now." He stood and headed toward the door.

"Wait." I stood up from the
bed and unconsciously straightened out my clothes.

He turned around, waiting for me to
speak. I took a few steps closer to him, defeat shone brightly in his eyes.

"Do you remember anything about
that night?" I asked looking away from him.

"No, nothing." He answered
firmly.

I nodded and looked back at him.

"I don’t blame you, Aidan. I know
that it wasn’t your fault…that this, all of this craziness, isn’t your fault."

"But?" He choked out.

"No but. I just want you to know
that I don’t think that it’s your fault." I took a step closer.

"You forgive me?" He stepped
closer to me.

"Forgive you…no." I shook my
head and his face fell. "Aidan…" I moved closer and lifted his face.
He immediately cupped my hand, holding it to his face. "There is nothing
to forgive. You didn’t do this."

"You don’t hate me or regret being
here, with me?" I saw hope flicker in his eyes.

I shook my head. "I can’t say that
thoughts of regret haven’t passed through my mind, but I don’t regret us."
I took a breath as he pressed closer to me. "Can you forgive me?" I
choked out.

"For what?" He wrapped his arm
around me. "You’ve done nothing wrong."

"I didn’t listen to you about
Loreley."

He shook his head. "Lilli, I love
that you tried to be friends with her, that you try to see people for their better
qualities. Loreley was not your fault."

The smell of his skin and the feel of
his body against mine broke down any walls that I had been building around us.
I wrapped my arms around him and he immediately pulled me into his chest
tightly.

"Fuck, I’ve missed you!" He
whispered into my hair and then kissed the top of my head.

"Aidan…" I felt him tense up,
"I still don’t know if I can live like this."

He pulled back and looked at me. "I
understand. Just…please don’t leave me." He dropped to his knees and
wrapped one arm around my thighs, the other around my waist, his head pressed
against my stomach. "I can’t live without you and will do whatever it
takes to protect you and our family. You are my life! Lilli, please…"

I hushed him by pulling his face toward
mine and leaned down to kiss him. The kiss wasn’t deep, nor passionate, but
loving, compassionate. His arms tightened as we kissed.

Then he stood up with me still in his
arms, lifting me from the floor. He spun us and I broke off the kiss and
laughed at him.

After laying me onto the bed, he crawled
up my body and pulled me into his chest. This wasn’t about sex. This was about
reconnecting. Once we had lain there for a couple of hours, we went to eat
dinner.

Immediately after we had finished dinner,
we took the kids back up to the room to play. On our way to their room, Aidan
stopped short in front of Jay and immediately requested that my things be moved
back into our room. I still wasn’t completely sure everything and I really
hadn’t planned on moving back into our room just yet, but I didn’t argue.

That night Aidan had plans for us.

Having just kissed the kids goodnight,
we walked into the bedroom together.

"I’m going to shower." I said
over my shoulder and headed to the bathroom.

I turned on the water and, as I was
undoing my jeans, I felt arms wrap around my waist. His fingers quickly
replaced mine as he unbuttoned my jeans and then slid them off of my body,
kissing the bare skin of the back of my thigh and then my calf. I stepped out
of my jeans as he tugged them away.

Slowly, his hands slid up my legs and
over my ass. He gripped the hem of my shirt and pulled it up, ever so slowly,
over my torso, kissing my hip, my shoulder blade and the back of my neck as he
went. Once he pulled the fabric over my head, he kissed my neck and shoulder,
while unhooking my bra and slipping it off of my shoulders.

His smooth hands caressed the exposed
skin of my shoulders, sliding over my collarbone and bare breasts. I took a
sharp intake of breath when I felt him rub over my nipples and then cup my
breasts. Too soon, he moved away from my chest and slid his hands back down my
body. When he reached my underwear, he hooked his fingers underneath the
elastic waist and pulled them down. Every move he made was in slow motion.

The bathroom had steamed up from the
running shower and it simply intensified the slick feeling of his skin against
mine.

Aidan reached for the shower door and
opened it, coaxing me to enter. Reluctantly, I climbed in alone, waiting for
him to follow. He undressed himself in record time, joining me only a few
moments later.

I felt his naked body pressed against my
back and leaned into him. He kissed and sucked on my neck and shoulder while
rubbing my water saturated body tenderly. I could feel the intense sensation
between my legs grow and grow, begging for him to touch me between my thighs.

He pulled away and I turned to look at
him.

Grabbing the body wash and putting some
into his hand, he proceeded to wash my body for me. He used massaging, circular
motions over my skin, from my shoulders to my feet, and back up. I was
literally putty in his hands.

When he tilted my head into the water, I
was a little confused. He, then, started to massage my scalp with shampoo and
then rinse it out, leaving me in complete awe. I had never felt this intimate
with someone in my entire life. Even sex had never felt like this.

Pressing my chest against his, he
pressed his lips to mine, both of us under the water. The water disappeared and
I assumed he had turned it off. I pushed to deepen the kiss and he allowed me access
to his mouth. Eagerly, I tangled my tongue with his.

Aidan slipped his hands behind my wet
thighs and lifted me to his waist. I groaned into his mouth when I felt how
hard he was and that he was so close to my entrance. I wiggled my hips and his
kissing intensified.

Quickly, he had us out of the shower and
wrapped a large towel around us. I could feel the motion of him walking but I
was lost in my own world of ecstasy as his mouth moved over the wet skin of my
neck and collarbone.

It wasn’t until I felt my back hit the
mattress that I snapped out of my lust induced haze. Aidan towered above me as
he stood, damp and naked, at the edge of the bed. I eyed him up and down, feeling
myself become more wanting.

He placed his hands on each of my feet,
slowly sliding them up as he moved between my legs. At my knee, he leaned in
and kissed both of them. At my thighs, he did the same. He continued on the
same path, sliding his hands over hips before kissing the bundle of over-sensitized
nerves hidden behind my swollen lips.

I bucked my hips and gasped. When his
tongue slid down and back up my entire slit, I screamed out for him. I felt him
settle between my legs, never moving his mouth away from my lower lips. His
hands slid up until they were caressing my breasts. I placed my hands over his,
helping him squeeze.

His tongue plunged inside of me and I
grabbed his hair, knotting it into my fist as I moaned and writhed against his
mouth. His moans sent vibrations directly to my center and I flew over the edge
into the oblivion of pleasure that had been building.

My breathing was labored, as was his,
when he climbed the rest of the way up my body.

"You taste so good." He
crushed his lips to mine and kissed me deeply.

The head of his cock was rubbing against
my sensitive clit and I was shuddering with each rub. I wanted more of him, I
wanted all of him, and I was going to have it. Thrusting my hips forward
against him, he moaned loudly. He positioned himself at my entrance and slid into
me.

"Oh god!" I screamed out as he
ravaged my body. I raised my hips to give him deeper access, allowing him to
take all of me.

"Fuck, Lilli! I’ve missed you so
fucking much, and this hot, wet…fuck!" He growled and slammed into me
quickly. "I fucking crave you!"

"Fuck, Aidan…don’t stop!
Harder!" My nails were digging into the skin of his upper arms.

Over and over, he thrust into me. All of
our pent up anger, frustration, angst and want slamming against each other.

"Baby…I’m gonna…cum with me...please…fuck!"

I slid my hand down to where we were
attached and rubbed myself. Aidan looked down at what I was doing.

"Fuck, baby, that is so hot!" He
growled. "Fuck, Lilli…please!"

Falling over the edge, again, I screamed
his name out. He yelled out for me before collapsing onto the bed next to me.
He pulled me to him immediately, holding me tightly to his heaving chest.

"Promise to never leave me."
He said in a hushed tone.

"I promise."

"You promise what?" He brushed
away my damp hair and snuggled into my neck.

"I promise to never leave
you."

We lay quietly, listening to each other
breath, feeling close. I was even more set on the fact that I would fight for
my husband, no matter who wanted to play games with us.

The rhythm of his breathing finally lulled
me to sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aidan

Finally having her back, really back,
made me come alive again. I craved Lilli. I just needed her in my life. What
had started as intrigue, and infatuation, has turned into a constant need for
her. For us.

I have always known that Lilli was
strong, but that night, in the spare bedroom, proved to me how amazing she
really was. She had never truly blamed me. She was just scared and confused. It
was a relief to finally clear the air with her and just be.

When I surprised her in the bathroom, I
really had no intentions of having sex with her. Of course I had thought about
it, but, in the end, I only wanted to show her how much I loved, appreciated
her, and the strength that she harbored inside. As soon as she had deepened our
kiss and rubbed herself against my erection, there was nothing and no one that
could have kept me from fucking the shit out of her that night. Want had turned
into an immediate need to taste, hear and feel her.